Life-boat.



H. FISHER.

LIFE BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG- 8. I9I6.

I Patented May 7,1918.

PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY FISHER, or LONDON, ENGLAND.

LIFE-BOAT.

Application filed August s, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY FISHER, a subject of the British Dominions,residing at 12 Doris St, Kensington Rd, London, Eng land, have inventedcertain new and useful. Improvements in Life-Boats, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of life boats which have a passengercar suspended within them which retains its horizontal positionindependent of any rolling action of its supporting body and is intendedto be an improvement upon the life boat shown,

described and claimed in the British patent numbered 8570 which wasaccepted on the 6th day of November A. D. 1913.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a life boat with apassenger car suspended in such a manner that it always retains itsupright position independent of any rolling action of its supportingbody. The car equipped for the carriage of passengers has a suflicientbuoyancy to support on the water when fully loaded the whole of itssupporting body, should such body be swamped forward and aft and holedamidships below the water line thus losing its buoyant powers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a covering for thepassengers within the car and in such a manner that a constant supply offresh air is admitted to them direct from the bow or stern of the boat,or through openings on the beam of the boat.

-Doors are provided in the semi-circular covering over the waist of theboat to allow of ingress and egress from the car to the outside or viceversa.

Further objects of the invention will appear from an examination of thedrawings, and the following description and claims:

The invention consists principally in the combination of a life boat, anoscillating passenger car arranged therein semi or threequarter circularbulkheads secured inside the boat and means for suspending theoscillating passenger car from these bulkheads substantially ashereinafter set forth.

The invention consists finally in the features, combinations. anddetails of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure I is a longitudinal section of theboat showing Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented'May 7, 1918. Serial No. 113,825.

the interior, when constructed according to improvements.

Fig. III is an elevation of one of the part circular bulkheads fromwhich the passenger car is suspended.

Fig. IV is an elevation of one of the inverted bulkheads or hoods, whichare attached to the ends of the semi-circular covel'llg over thepassenger car, one at either en Fig. V is a cross section of the boat atpoints where aventilating shaft is situated and an inlet pipe to theballast tank.

Fig. VI is a ground plan of the ballast tanks and fuel tanks.

F 1g. VII is a cross section showing the end of the passenger car andthe method of suspension.

Fig. VIII is a broken part of the side of the boat and the wall of thepassenger car showing the friction wheel brake.

The principal object of my invention is to prov de a perfect life boat,one that will afford its passengers complete protection from exposure, alife boat that cannot sink or be submerged even if swamped forward andaft and holed amidships, a life, boat that shape of an ordinary boat,having the beam somewhat cylindrically shaped. This offers lessresistance to the action of the sea as it offers no grip.

The bow and stern of the boat are opened to all weather conditions, thisbeing essential in a life boat, to permit of persons bein picked up fromthe water who may not 111v? boarded the boat before it left the ship, orin the case of rescuing persons from a vessel in distress.

The improved life boat does not solely rely for its buoyancy on thesupporting shell.

The waist of the boat cannot be swamped under sea conditions. itself tokeep the boat well afloat if swamped forward and aft yet if bymisadventure the waist of the boat should be stove in below the waterline, the passenger car in itself is suflicient to support the whole ofthe outer structure, even should it be fully loaded and swamped, as seawater cannot enter the passenger car as it is protected overhead by asemicircular covering, carried from one gunwale to the other. Theforward and after ends of the covering are fitted with invertedbulkheads or hoods, these protect the passenger car from end-on seas.The hoods do not lie close to the bulkheads from which the car issuspended. This space allows free access of air to the passenger car.This space may be enlarged and thus allow of passengers in the bow orstern entering the passenger car over the ends. To lnsure the permanentstability of the boat a ballast tank is provided at the keel, thisautomatically fills with water as soon as the boat touches the water andis automatically retained against any rolling action by the same device.

Having briefly described the objects aimed at to obtain a perfect lifeboat and for what purpose they are used reference will now be made tothe numerals as shown on the drawings and the parts they refer to. 1 isthe open how 2 is the floor line of the bow 2 is a tank beneath thefloor for containing oil for calming purposes. 3 is a partial circularbulkhead from which the passenger car is suspended 4: is the invertedbulkhead or hood attached to the semicircular covering 43* areobservation ports fitted to the hoods capable of being opened or shut asdesired 5 is a swinging hinged flap attached to the lower end of thehood, this is to close the opening to the space between the twobulkheads 3 and 4. 6 is a hand rail running fore and aft the coveringover the passenger car 7 are ventilating shafts, which lead fromopenings in the side of the boat or covering. These are just above waterline at swamped and full loading point. Attached to the openings arecasings or chutes led up inside the semicircular covering and attachedthereto. These freely admit air to the car which is suspended from thebulkheads 3 by means of a cambered bar 8, the ends of which pass throughthe ends of the passenger car and have pivotally mounted on them afriction wheel 10 which runs freely on its axle and within a bearingring 9 securely attached to the bulkhead 3. A boss or shoulder 8 isattached to the cambered bar 8 and butts up against the inside ends ofthe passenger car 11 to which it is securely attached. 12 are supportingstays, 12 is an upright secured to the cambered bar 8 and the lower Thisis sufficient in end bolted to a band partially encircling the passengercar. This method of suspension permits the car to be very lightlyconstructed as the central weight is taken by the cambered bar 8 bymeans of the upright 12 The stern of the boat 13 is entirely open to theweather and is fitted under seagoing conditions with the usual detailedseat lockers, steering gear, engines and all necessary appliances.

The ballast tank 15 is subdivided into compartments preferably oneforward and one aft, these two contain the water ballast. Thecompartments amidships numbered 17 are for containing fuel for a motor.The water enters the ballast tank 15 by means of the pipes 16 which haveone end open to the sea, the pipes being led across the bottom of thetank inside. By this automatic device, the ballast water is held in thetank, no rolling action of the boat being able to release it. Only whenthe boat is being lifted direct from the water on an even keel, as whenbeing put aboard a ship can the ballast be released, this action beingauto matic. 18 are the openings in the semicircular covering. These arefitted with slidably operated covers, 19 are the fuel feed pipes ledfrom the fuel tanks 17 to the motor, being secured close in the angleformed by the tank and boats bottom. This affords complete protection tothe pipes. 20 is an air escape from the ballast tank, this is to becarried well above the car. The lines at the bow and stern marked A andB show full load line at A with the boat swamped forward and aft andholed amidships. B is water line at full load with the boat clear ofwater inside the difference of the draft being approximately fiveinches.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new 1. A boat having itsbow and stern open, two transverse bulkheads in segmental form erectedat some distance apart, a semi-cylindrical covering securely attached tothe gun wale and extending fore and aft beyond the said bulkheads, twoinverted segmental bulkheads securely attached at each end of thesemi-cylindrical covering and being placed a short distance respectivelyfrom the first named segmental bulkheads, there being a space betweenthe upper surface of the first named bulkhead and the covering and alsoa space between the lower edge of the second named segmental bulkheadand the bottom of the boat substantially as set forth.

2. In a life boat an oscillating passenger car suspended from andbetween two bulkheads in the waist of a boat that has its bow and sternopen to all weather substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a life boat, a cambered bar for suspending the passenger car fromtwo bulkheads, fore and aft and athwartship stays, a boss, a frictionaxle roller,and bearing ring substantially as set forth.

4. In a life boat, an automatic ballasting tank attached to the keel ofthe boat, the ballast being automatically admitted to the tank,automatically retained in the tank and automatically emptied from thetank when required by the same device, including a pipe or pipes ledthrough the tank from the 10 Water ballast, substantially as set forthand 15 shown in the drawings.

HARRY FISHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

